With NIL payments for $500 please.

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21 players opted out of the Orange Bowl. For those who suggested an FSU "no-show" to the Orange Bowl in protest, in effect they may have gotten their wish!

Florida State opt-outs: Transfers, NFL Draft declarees​

1. Quarterback Tate Rodemaker
2. Linebacker DJ Lundy
3. Running back Rodney Hill
4. Defensive lineman Malcolm Ray
5. Running back CJ Campbell
6. Offensive tackle Daughtry Richardson
7. Quarterback A.J. Duffy
8. Offensive tackle Bless Harris
9. Defensive lineman Dylan Brown
10. Tight end Markeston Douglas
11. Offensive tackle Thomas Shrader
12. Defensive lineman Ayobami Tifase
13. Offensive lineman Qae’shon Sapp
14. Linebacker Dylan Brown-Turner
15. Wide receiver Johnny Wilson (Declared for NFL Draft)
16. Defensive lineman Jared Verse (Declared for NFL Draft)
17. Tight end Jaheim Bell (Declared for NFL Draft)
18. Running back Trey Benson (Declared for NFL Draft)
19. Wide receiver Keon Coleman (Declared for NFL Draft)
20. Cornerback Renardo Green (Declared for NFL Draft)
21. Defensive back Jarrian Jones (Declared for NFL Draft)

Confirmed it just now. Story to come.

Said so as much to reporters today.

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He was also asked about the NFL and sidestepped both questions, saying he’s focused on today and the current game.

While he’s making these comments public, I also know he’s saying these comments in private, too, as he firmly believes that McCarthy is ready for the pros.

I know JJ has some pro-NFL people in his circle too.

While it’s no guarantee that he is going to leave after this season, he does have people in his corner thinking he should go.

Again, not saying he’s made a decision nor do I think he’s absolutely gone for sure but I think the odds are much closer to 50/50 than they were a few months ago.

We’ll see what happens.

Michigan and Bama are out in front for Domani Jackson right now, I know former USC DB Su’a Cravens was the first one to point that out.

What I don’t know is who sits where on the list or if he’s going to visit. I’ll obviously do some more digging in the coming days.

Just wanted to share what I know.

Roster total: 93
On the 85: 76
2025 Class: 3

Players listed from most veteran to most recent classes, 4* in composite rankings in bold, 5* bold and underlined.

Players on the 85: 1st through 4th year players who signed an NLI out of high school. Assumption is all 5th/6th years, all grad transfers and all walkons "put on scholarship" are actually on NIL and thus do not count against the 85.

(Assumed to be on NIL, not on the 85, in parentheses.)

*Final Year Of Eligibility

Offense (43)

QB: (Warren*), Denegal, Orji, Davis, Smith (5)
RB: (Dunlap*), Cabana, Hall, JMarshall, Ka’apana (5)
FB: Ludwig (1)
TE: Loveland*, (Bredeson*), Klein, Tonielli, ZMarshall, Prieskorn, Hansen (7)
OT: (Bounds*), Gentry*, CJones, Link, Sprague, Roebuck (6)
OG: (El-Hadi*), (Giudice*), Herring, Efobi, Frazier, Hamilton (6)
C: (Crippen*), (Anderson*), Guarnera (3)
WR: (Dixon*), (O'Leary*), Morris*, Clemons, English, Morgan, FMoore, Bell, IStewart, Goodwin (10)

Defense (48)

NT: (Iwunnah*), Grant, Pierce, Beigel, Palepale (5)
3T/5T: (Benny*), Lorenzetti, Graham, Etta, Bahr, Brandt, Hammond, Wafle, Kanka (9)
EDGE: (Bennett*), (Guy*), (McLaurin*), DMoore*, Koumba, Ishmail, Baxter, Nichols (8)
SAM: Hewlett, Sullivan (2)
ILB: (Hood*), Hausmann*, Barham, Rolder, MicahPollard, Bridgeman, HMoore, Curtis, Beasley, JadenSmith (10)
CB: WJohnson*, MylesPollard, Walker, Hill, Edmond, Lowe, Ewald (7)
S/NB: (McBurrows*), Sabb, Berry, KJones, Hillman, Waller, Oden (7)

K/P (2)

Doman, Samaha

***

NOTES

-"Too Early" because 20 of these guys won't be here by the time we get to Signing Day 12+ months from now. We still need a bunch of these guys to go in order to clear out room on the 85 for 2024. I'd be willing to bet that 2/3 to 3/4 of the guys in parentheses on this roster won't actually be here past 2024.

-One thing you can see based on what's likely to return in 2025 is that WR is a really important position - we need to make up some ground there, talent-wise. And we need numbers at safety/nickel, as well as EDGE/SAM.

-I like the percentage of 4* recruits we have in the 3rd/4th year classes at DB. That bodes well for having a good pass defense. And that's assuming Will Johnson won't be here after next season.

-We will almost surely have no returning 5* on the 2025 roster.

-I know he has been playing corner, but eye test says DJ Waller will be a safety by next season. Looking at his frame... that's not what cornerbacks look like.

-51/93 "bold type" on the roster is pretty close to where you want to see it. The most talented Michigan teams tend to be around 60%, and we've rarely been above that in the past. While the 2024 roster is light on 4*/5* talent, a solid 2025 class could gets things close to optimal in 2025. But we're going to need to pick things up a bit on the recruiting front to be there.

We're back after our Christmas break and ready to hit the ground running now that it is game week!

Fire away with your questions and we'll get back to you!

Chair Yogo and did you have success?

Any advice? I must stay off my feet.

Thank You...

Linebacker Cole Sullivan is one of the Michigan class of 2024 signees enrolling early and participating in the team's bowl prep practices as the team gets ready for the Crimson Tide.

Sullivan discusses how things are going for him, what the biggest adjustments have been so far at the college level, and the team's mindset from his view going into the Alabama game:

https://michigan.rivals.com/news/20...-looking-to-improve-each-day-during-bowl-prep

A look at the star rankings across all rosters:

For your viewing pleasure. These might vary from the transcripts posted today (two others will be posted tonight to stagger things a bit), they were running two different rooms.

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Roster total: 111
On the 85: 93
2024 Class: 27

Players listed from most veteran to most recent classes, 4* in composite rankings in bold, 5* bold and underlined.

Players on the 85: 1st through 4th year players who signed an NLI out of high school. Assumption is all 5th/6th years, all grad transfers and all walkons "put on scholarship" are actually on NIL and thus do not count against the 85.

(Players assumed to be on NIL, not on the 85, in parentheses.)

*Final Year Of Eligibility

Offense (53)

QB: McCarthy*, (Warren), Denegal, Orji, Davis (5)
RB: (Mullings*), Edwards*, Dunlap, Cabana, Hall, JMarshall, Ka’apana (7)
FB: Ludwig (1)
TE: (Barner*), Loveland, (Bredeson), Klein, Tonielli, ZMarshall, Prieskorn, Hansen (8)
OT: (Barnhart*), (TJones*), (Hinton*), (Persi*), Bounds, Gentry, CJones, Link, Sprague, Roebuck (10)
OG: (Priebe*), El-Hadi, Giudice, Herring, Efobi, Frazier, Hamilton (7)
C: Crippen, Anderson, Guarnera (3)
WR: (Wilson*), (Dennis*), (O’Leary), Dixon, Morris, Clemons, English, Morgan, Bell, FMoore, IStewart, Goodwin (12)

Defense (56)

NT: Iwunnah, Grant, Pierce, Beigel, Palepale (5)
3T/5T: (Jenkins*), (Atteberry*), Benny, Lorenzetti, Graham, Etta, Bahr, Brandt, Hammond, Wafle (10)
EDGE: (McGregor*), JStewart*, Bennett, Guy, McLaurin, DMoore, Koumba, Ishmail, Baxter, Edokpayi, Nichols (11)
SAM: (Harrell*), Hewlett, Sullivan (3)
ILB: Colson*, Hood, Rolder, Barham, Hausmann, MicahPollard, Bridgeman, HMoore, Curtis, Beasley, Smith (11)
CB: McBurrows, WJohnson, MylesPollard, Walker, Hill, Edmond, Lowe (7)
S/NB: (QJohnson*), (Paige*), RMoore*, Sabb, Berry, KJones, Hillman, Waller, Oden (9)

K/P (2)

Doman, Samaha

***

NOTES

-With 18 of 111 who are grads and walkons "put on scholarship" all assumed to be on NIL, that still leaves us at 93 and over capacity as of now. We need 8 players who are NOT in parentheses above to go pro/enter the portal in order to get down to 85.

- 60/111 remains a touch low on the "bold type" (four and five stars) for a Michigan roster. You'd like it be 65-70 of 111. And we’re likely to lose 6-8 more former "bold type" recruits to the draft or portal, so our number will likely get lower in the coming weeks. In the scheme of the whole Power 4, it's obviously quite high, of course, but the top power programs are over 70 or even 80 percent. Keep in mind: looking at their recent classes... OSU is going to have fewer than 10 sub-4* recruits on their roster next season. We're going to have 45 or more. And the percentage of our roster that we’re top 125-150 recruits - the upper half of bold type - is declining concerningly.

-Some late notes on the composite rankings: Devon Baxter, Cole Sullivan, Jaden Smith and Jo'Ziah Edmond have all gone from 3* to 4* on the 247 composite since committing, while Channing Goodwin and Dominic Nichols have dropped from 4* to 3* and Jadyn Davis has dropped from 5* almost out of the top 100. Brady Prieskorn and Blake Frazier have stayed at 4* but dropped quite a bit in the overall rankings. And lastly, a note on I'Marion Stewart: He's Top 100 on 247 and made a big jump to close to it on Rivals. On3 is the downside outlier, having him all the way down close to #300. But don't blame this one on EJ Holland - he's a huge Stewart fan and rates him comparably to the other two. If On3 comes around on Stewart, he could be our first Top 100 WR since 2017 (the DPJ/Black/Collins class.) Overall, we've seen roughly equal upward and downward movement.

of playing vanilla defense early in the game before he figures out how a team was going to attack us. I’ve been watching a lot of Milroe and 1st, without a miracle play he couldn’t repeat if he tried, Bama is in the Duke’s mayo bowl or playing OSU. He is very inexperienced and only got heated up by the press because of a couple of typical SEC QB games. Then they upset a Georgia team that was a shell of the 2021 team that made it through a cupcake schedule undefeated by barely beating some bad teams to only lose to a good but overrated Alabama team. I think the key to beating ‘Bama is to immediately open the book on Milroe by lightning him up with Mush line blitzes with 7 guys moving and threatening to blitz and then rushing 4 from anywhere while the others drop into coverage. We should Double A gap blitz so he has to throw immediatel. We should blitz the blindside CB, and Mikey and the LBs should be schemed to have free runs at Milroe. If we don’t get to him in time, he should be hit..hard on every play. I promise you he will start shying away from contact before halftime..if we don’t knock him out of the game.

As far as coverage, forget the conservative starts. Begin using those sophisticated NFL disguised coverages, switching after Milroe gets the play from the sidelines. He may be talented, but he didn’t even start all season, I doubt he is even going through full reads. Michigan should take risks from the first snap and confuse the hell out of him. Hit him every pass play, punish him if he runs, and confuse the hell out of him from the first snap so he turns the ball over early, and he is not experienced nearly enough to maintain his confidence to win the game.

The last 2 CFP games, our usual conservative defensive starts hurt us (though I’m convinced TCU’s amazing defensive play was due to 3rd Base’s DC, a good Ol Big-12 boy, passed along the complete database of our plays that a cabal of at least 4 B1G teams, OSU, Rutgers, Illinois, and Purdue, colluded to create and share with apparently any team Michigan was playing). I think Minter should have realized through self-scouting that this was a chronic habit that better teams were exploiting. Bring the heat..exotic blitzes..complex coverage disguises..Milroe, with his very limited experience, will implode and cost Bama the game long before they pull him in a non competitive 4th Quarter.

My serious prediction: Alabama, playing 3000 miles away from home, away from a fanbase that can’t afford to attend a game they can’t drive to in few hours..in front of what will amount to an almost home field advantage for Michigan, considering all of the Alums who reside in the area, and the 50 thousand more to whom travel money and renting an elite level B&B or a 3 bedroom house is no big deal, will create a “Big House West” advantage that will really affect them..The Crimson Tide is used to always having the home field advantage in every bowl they play In. Don’t play down the distance factor, Bama rarely plays a half day drive from Tuscaloosa. The real advantage for Michigan is ‘Bama will be playing on a real grass field the Rose Bowl field crew has historically cut the grass long..like US Open golf rough long, that will neutralize the alleged Alabama speed advantage. Go after Milroe immediately and let him dig Alabama’s own grave. I see Michigan breaking all their tendencies early to get up by a couple of scores..then do what they do by grinding down the opposition into hamburger while time keeps slipping away in the second half from ‘Bama.

Michigan surprises everyone with a game they win in the 1st quarter and coast to a 31-20 win on Monday. I almost guarantee it because everyone thinks Michigan doesn’t have a chance to win. That almost always means the opposite will happen.

31-20…you heard it here first. Breaking our usual modus operandi on defense is the key.

I looked up his stats by game this season... Listen. He's a really good player and he's gotten a lot better but this is what I found.

6 Interceptions but thrown in FIVE games. JJ only threw a pick in two games.

Seven times he took four or more sacks in a single game.

12 touchdown runs happened in five games. Mtsu Kentucky Mississippi State Arkansas he had one great game against LSU's stinky defense. Four touchdown runs! Milroe had eight games without a touchdown run.

He had beast games rushing against Auburn and LSU. Outside of these two games only one other time Did he rush for more than 50 yards in a single game. 69 yards versus Mississippi State. Although he hasn't busted off that many huge runs, most of them were in these games. 10 out of 13 games he had less than 50 yards rushing. I know he didn't start against USF.

Four times this season he posted a QBR in the '60s AND 6 times total this season he posted a single game QBR of 75 or less.

Listen the guy has improved a lot. He had a heck of a November against Kentucky and Chattanooga. A nice last minute come back versus Auburn. Alabama beat Georgia and they might beat us. However, this guy is not unstoppable. Our defensive line with its block destruction is made to give this Alabama team fits.

If you had a choice, which would you prefer?

are on their tail to do the same.

In fact, how the ACC handles this situation will determine if the ACC survives or dies.

Greg Flugaur on CFB Peek Around The Corner touched on this a while back.

My friends who are retired ACC coaches said 4 weeks ago if the ACC is stupid not to negotiate a release for these schools the ACC is dead like the PAC 12.

Those naysayers ridiculing me are once again proven wrong. Not being an A$$. But, it is intelligent to take things with a grain of salt, let things season and play out.

Those 7 (8) schools have much value to the B1G and SEC. This puts ND into play as this will drastically lower ND's value in the ACC, this forcing their hand to possibly join the B1G.

If ND is smart, they will make a move giving their choice of 2, 4 or 6 schools.

FSU, Miami and ND are the eyeballs prize. But the NC & VA schools appear to be tied together.

With no divisions in the B1G 3/4 schools would work. If pods are the future, then 24 schools makes sense.

These chess moves will be interesting.


It is happening...

ACC is in trouble.